Understanding the Dangers of Rapid Weight Loss

If you have decided its time to lose weight, you likely want that excess weight gone from your body as quickly as possible. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to many areas of your life and once you have the motivation to get healthy, you do not want to slow down.

However, there are many dangers involved with rapid weight loss that you need to be aware of before you participate in a program that promises to help you lose weight too quickly. Unless you are severely overweight, losing much more than 1-2 pounds per week may not be healthy (after a couple weeks of initially losing more than that).

That small amount of weight loss is a good amount to set for a goal so that your body can adjust to the changes and help you keep the weight off in the future. Losing more weight at a time can lead to severe health problems.

What your Body Needs

You may think losing weight is simple. However, many people take their diet to extreme measures and cut back on their calories so severely that they see a rapid amount of weight loss all at once. You need to keep in mind that like a car needs gas to run, your body needs fuel as well. In order to stay healthy, you need to have protein and many other nutrients in your body.

If you do not get the nutrients you need in your diet, your body will break down muscles and eventually other organs and use those as the nutrients it needs. You will likely lose weight, but you will also be harming other areas of your body at the same time. Plus, when you deprive your body through rapid weight loss programs, you will probably gain the weight back.

Areas of the Body

There are many areas of the body that can be negatively affected by rapid weight loss. Your heart, for one, needs to adjust itself any time your body weighs more or less than normal. Since your heart is a muscle, when you loss weight too quickly, you are putting stress on your heart. You might see blood pressure changes or heart rate issues arise and you might even see an irregular heart rhythm due to rapid weight loss. In order to keep your heart healthy, losing weight in a gradual manner is the best option.

Your bones can also be adversely affected by losing weight too quickly. IF you do not get enough vitamin D and calcium, you are at a higher risk for osteoporosis. Your bones will be more frail and they will be more easily fractured. You might not even know that your bones are in danger until it is too late. Once you contract bone issues, you might have to go on medication to rebuild strength.

Weight loss is never easy, but if you want to loss weight in a healthy manner, going on a diet that helps you to shed pounds in a gradual way is best. You will not only save your body from the dangers of rapid loss, but you will also be able to maintain the weight you lose in the future.